Performance enhancing materials in Paintball
Most performance oriented sports today benefit from advances in materials technology, and Paintball is no exception. One of, if not the most, popular upgrades for paintball guns today is a Carbon Fiber Barrel. Earlier technologies applied to paintball typically utilized aluminum or even titanium materials, but today many companies are looking for ways to apply the “space age” technology of carbon fiber to further reduce the weight and increase the performance of paintball equipment.
For a number of reasons though, the paintball barrel has become the standard part to be constructed of carbon fiber, and there are a number of companies in existence who supply a cf barrel as either part of their product line, or even as their exclusive product offering. One likely reason for the popularity of the barrel specifically is due to the inertial advantage it offers– since the barrel protrudes so far in front of the gun (or, “marker”), the weight reduction it bring is amplified. To explain further, the weight protruding out the front of the paintball maker makes it more difficult to turn quickly (or, “snap”) and take a quick aim at an opponent. If this weight is reduced, the player can adjust aim much faster and potentially take out an opponent in just a fraction of a second faster. This may not sound like much, but in this competitve sport, any advantage can make the difference between winning and losing!
The sport has certainly come a long way since the days when stainless steel was considered leading edge technology. It will be interesting to see how carbon fiber and newer materials technologies are applied next in this dynamic sport.